Giant rabbit dies at Chicago airport after United flight

LONDON — United Airlines is investigating the death of a giant rabbit on one its trans-Atlantic flights, adding to a growing list of customer complaints for the U.S. carrier.

Distraught breeder Annette Edwards told The Associated Press by phone Wednesday that a veterinarian checked Simon, a 10-month-old, 3-foot-long continental rabbit, shortly before the animal was put on a flight from London’s Heathrow airport to Chicago’s O’Hare. Simon had been purchased by a celebrity whom Edwards did not identify.

“Simon had his vet check just before getting on the plane,” she said. “He was fit as a fiddle.”

The airline said it was “saddened” by the news and had been in contact with Edwards to offer assistance.

United spokesman Charles Hobart said the airline is reviewing its handling of the animal. The animal was alive and showed no signs of distress upon landing but died at a pet holding facility at the airport, Hobart said.

Hobart said the rabbit was moving around in its crate and appeared healthy when taken off the plane. About a half-hour later, at the pet facility, it seemed to be sleeping. Shortly after that, a pet facility employee opened the cage and found that the rabbit was dead.

“We won’t know the cause of death because we offered to perform a necropsy free of charge — that’s standard procedure — but the customer didn’t want us to perform a necropsy, and we understand,” he said.

Hobart said the airline offered compensation to the breeder but would not disclose the amount.

“The safety and wellbeing of all the animals that travel with us is of the utmost importance to United Airlines and our PetSafe team,” the airline said in a statement.

“Simon had his vet check just before getting on the plane,” she said from Worcestershire in central England. “He was fit as a fiddle.”

Edwards has said Simon is the offspring of Darius, which the Guinness World Records lists as the world’s longest rabbit at 4 feet 3 inches. Simon had been purchased by a celebrity whom Edwards did not identify.

Edwards said the airline was examining CCTV images to determine what happened to the rabbit. United declined to comment on the matter beyond its statement.

United had the second-highest level of animal deaths and injuries of any U.S. airline last year, or 2.11 per 10,000 animals transported, according to U.S. Department of Transportation figures. Only Hawaiian Airlines was worse at 3.99, the result of three deaths among the 7,518 animals transported.

United reported nine deaths and 14 injuries for a total of 23 incidents, the highest figures for each category among U.S. carriers. The airline transported 109,149 animals last year, second only to Alaska Airlines with 112,281. Alaska reported two deaths and one injury.

United is already working to repair its image after a passenger who would not give up his seat on an overbooked flight was dragged forcibly from a plane at O’Hare Airport in Chicago.

Airport security officers removed David Dao, a 69-year-old from Kentucky, from the United Express flight. Images of his bloodied face were widely circulated on social media, forcing United CEO Oscar Munoz to apologize.

Two weeks earlier, United was criticized after a gate agent stopped two young girls from boarding a flight because they were wearing leggings. The airline said leggings violate the dress code of the United Pass program, a benefit for employees and their dependents, under which the girls were flying.

The airline said last week that Munoz would not automatically become chairman of the carrier’s parent company, United Continental Holdings, next year as originally planned.

Munoz was widely faulted for his early responses to the incident where the passenger was dragged off the plane. He first blamed the passenger but later apologized repeatedly for United’s handling of the situation.